HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently announced that they’ve sent over 370,000 letters to older people, mostly women, asking them to check their State Pension as some may be getting less than they’re entitled to.
According to data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the average back payment is £7,859.
In 2022, the DWP found that some people’s State Pensions were incorrect because periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) were missing.
This caused errors in their National Insurance records, which are managed by HMRC, and affected people both under and over State Pension age.
The DWP and HMRC launched a program called the Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) to help identify people who may have missing HRP on their State Pension records.
This programme allows people to apply, fix their records, and receive both back payments and corrected ongoing State Pension payments.
The DWP and HMRC launched the LEAP program to identify individuals with missing HRP on their State Pension records
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New data shows that 493,813 people have used the online tool on GOV.UK to check if they are missing HRP. Anyone affected by the error will receive back payments by the end of this year.
The DWP has prioritised sending letters to people in their 60s and 70s who are closest to State Pension age.
However, anyone who thinks they may be impacted can check online using the self-identification tool on GOV.UK.
By the end of September last year, HMRC had processed 37,289 applications from people over State Pension age and 5,428 from those under 66. So far, the DWP has paid out £42million in back payments.
The DWP estimates that between £300m and £1.5billion in State Pension payments were underpaid due to mistakes in recording HRP.
HRP was a program designed to help protect the State Pension entitlement of parents and carers, and it was replaced by National Insurance (NI) credits on April 6, 2010.
HMRC is now using NI records to find people who may have been eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010 but don’t have it recorded.
Since May 2000, it’s been required to include a NI number on claims, so people who claimed after that date won’t have been affected.
It’s estimated that tens of thousands of people are owed an average of £5,000 in back payments.
HMRC and DWP are also running a wider campaign to make sure everyone who might be eligible knows about the corrections process.
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Before starting the online HRP check, individuals will be asked if they have gaps in their National Insurance record.
If they cannot find their National Insurance record online or do not know the answers to any of the questions, they can select “Do not know,” and they will be guided on how to obtain this information.
To use the online HRP tool, individuals may still apply for HRP for full tax years between 1978 and 2010 if they meet any of these conditions:
- They were claiming Child Benefit for a child under 16.
- They were caring for a child with a partner who claimed Child Benefit.
- They were receiving Income Support for caring for someone who was sick or disabled.
- They were caring for a sick or disabled person who was claiming certain benefits.
Additionally, between 2003 and 2010, individuals who were foster carers or kinship carers in Scotland may also apply for HRP.
Before starting the online HRP check, individuals will be asked if they have gaps in their National Insurance record
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Some people automatically qualified for HRP, including those:
- Receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16 and providing their National Insurance number.
- Receiving Income Support for caring for someone sick or disabled without needing to register for work.
If a partner claimed Child Benefit instead of them, it may be possible to transfer HRP if they lived together and cared for a child under 16.
However, this does not apply to married women or widows who paid reduced National Insurance contributions.
HRP can also be claimed for the years spent caring for a sick or disabled person if the care lasted at least 35 hours a week, and the person was receiving specific benefits.
For those who received Carer’s Allowance, HRP is not needed as National Insurance credits are automatically provided.
